Funcom has entered into a licensing agreement with Herbert Properties LLC and Legendary Entertainment to develop a video game based on Frank Herbert's Dune series. No other details have been revealed, except that Funcom will begin development of the game later this year.
Funcom CEO Rui Casais said in a statement that the company has a strong background when it comes to fantasy and sci-fi with titles like Age of Conan and Conan Exiles. Casais added that a lot of people at Funcom are huge fans of the series and they "are thrilled to have the opportunity to collaborate with Legendary and Herbert Properties LLC to bring the iconic Dune universe to life for gamers all over the globe."
Funcom's announcement was made just as news of a Dune movie is in development at Legendary Entertainment. This is not the first time the Dune series has been brought to the big screen, as David Lynch had a crack at it back in 1984. TV network Syfy would release its own three-part miniseries in 2000 and a sequel in 2003.
In 2016, it was announced the Legendary Entertainment had obtained the rights to Dune. It was then announced around a year later that Denis Villeneuve will helm the new film. Villeneuve is known for hits like Sicario, Arrival, and Blade Runner 2049.
It's official -- Legendary Pictures has signed the very talented Denis Villeneuve to direct the exciting new DUNE series film project.
— Brian Herbert (@DuneAuthor) February 1, 2017
Timothée Chalamet has been announced to play Paul Atreides, Rebecca Ferguson will portray Jessica Atreides, Zendaya is tapped for Chani, and Javier Bardem will appear as Stilgar. For you wrestling fans out there, Batiasta will play a role as well.
This also isn't the first time Dune has been made into a video game. The first would be the 1992 adventure strategy game Dune, which would use the visual elements of David Lynch's film while loosely adapting the story from the original novel. The next game, Dune II: The Building of a Dynasty, would make the genre shift to real-time strategy. This would set the format of the succeeding games to follow.
Dune 2000 served as a remake of Dune II. Released by Westwood Studios, it used the same game engine as Command & Conquer: Red Alert. Westwood later partnered with Intelligent Games to develop Emperor: Battle for Dune.
